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Flu Season is Here!

“A new policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) outlines the academy’s influenza vaccination recommendations for the 2014-2015 flu season.”

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The AAP recommends routine immunization with either trivalent or quadrivalent vaccine of all children and adolescents aged 6 months and older without contraindications, paying particular attention to vulnerable groups such as children with chronic health conditions and children of American Indian or Alaska Native heritage.

To further protect children, special effort should be made to vaccinate healthcare personnel; childcare providers and staff; women who are pregnant or considering pregnancy; women who are postpartum or breastfeeding; and household contacts and caregivers of high-risk children, including children aged younger than 5 years and infants aged younger than 6 months.

The recommendations stress the importance of annual vaccination, even though this season’s vaccine composition is the same as last year, because antibody titers decrease to half their original levels within 6 months to a year after immunization.”